


Unravel to Reboot

by Alternative



Series: Warming Up To You [1]
Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Help, M/M, Making Friends, angst kinda, breakfast at slaine's, fluff kinda, im on the ship, inasure - Freeform, pop goes my heart, prison slaine, still have no clue what i was thinking when writing this, suspicious background characters, what am i doing its my mother's birthday and its mothers day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-30 00:54:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3917134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alternative/pseuds/Alternative
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slaine frequently feels cold even during temperatures as high as thirty degrees, except one odd morning, the room feels warm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unravel to Reboot

**Author's Note:**

> i have no clue  
> im kinda new to this shit

It's always cold, or so Slaine Troyard concluded as he sat on a chair, waiting patiently for his captor to greet him with a blank face. Slaine shifted slightly in his seat, foot latched onto one of the chair's legs, cold metal cuffs scraping against the metal leg. He found that wrapping a foot - _preferably his chained foot -_ around a chair leg made him feel more comfortable, even with his ankle cuffed to it. He silently grew to hate the feeling of cold metal against his skin, but it wasn't like he could do anything to change it. He was a prisoner - _the door opens, Slaine's sharp, teal eyes shift ever-so slightly -_ and there was his captor.

Kaizuka Inaho enters the room with his usual stoic face, wearing his usual, uniform attire consisting of the colors blue, white, and black. Slaine meets his gaze for a moment, but then realizes he's looking at the wrong eye - _the one covered by the eyepatch -_ which then brings him to averting his gaze. He knows that Inaho notices, because Inaho's deep, rich red eye stares at him with such a knowing intent. He feels a ringing, small pang of regret land a number on his chest. Slaine tries to ignore it, and he continues to try even as the brunet seats himself on his regular chair, straightening himself up.

Slaine allows his blond hair to get in the way of his sight. He's used to it, after all, it's been five months. Five months?

_Five months?_

Has it really? No, no, it feels like it has been longer - but maybe it has been three months. Maybe it's only been days. Slaine's mind seeks clarification, but Slaine himself doesn't want to know. He doesn't care. He doesn't belong in this world anymore, anyway.

From beyond Slaine's long strands of hair, he sees movement, although he hears nothing. It wasn't until Inaho pulled out the tiled board that he realized what Inaho was doing. _'Again?'_ His mind complains at the repetitive board game that Inaho loves to play with him - _or rather, himself._

A voice rips through the silence like thunder, and it almost makes Slaine's body twitch in reaction.

"Have you eaten?"

 _Ah,_ yes, _this question again._

And of course, the blond doesn't reply. He doesn't have to, Inaho can tell. _Inaho already knows_. That lady always comes by his jail cell to check on him when he eats, and she eyes him for a second, and leaves. It's obvious she's constantly being ordered to fluctuate back and forth by a rank higher than hers, whatever her rank _was,_ anyway. The lady comes, eyes him with utmost disinterest, and leaves; she comes and goes. ' _She probably reports the amount of food I digest in a day to her superiors in order to ensure that I am "healthy",'_ Slaine thinks as he slumps to his side slightly.

Inaho moves his first piece, and the moment he does, Slaine knows it's a declaration of silent war.

It is twenty-four degrees outside, and the room feels cold. Slaine shivers.

* * *

' _Ah,'_ Inaho blankly exclaims to himself inwardly as he eyes Slaine's shoulders tremble for a brief moment before settling back down to their usual, undemanding slump, ' _there it is.'_ Inaho has come to a solid observation that Slaine's body temperature is naturally low. He finds that even on warm, spring days, Slaine shivers as if the room was cold. Malnutrition and lack of sleep were also additives to this equation, Slaine didn't eat properly, or so his warden has been telling him. Neither did Slaine sleep properly, based on the deep rings beneath Slaine's eyes.

"It's your turn," Inaho begins, his voice empty.

Slaine doesn't shift.

Inaho purses his lip, and moves Slaine's piece for him, and their hours started as usual.

With Slaine doing nothing, and with Inaho trying to encourage him to talk, and like usual, it didn't work.

Although it was twenty-four degrees outside, the room felt unbelievably cold, like the arctic wind had blown over it twice.

Inaho shifts, and he decides that he wants this to change. So, he makes an inward note to tell the warden before he leaves today that if Slaine Troyard does not eat his food tomorrow morning, then she should call him. He wasn't busy tomorrow, anyway. There were just about twenty-three papers to review and sign, and about two write-outs he had to do.

He always had time to keep Slaine company in his schedule, and if he didn't, then he would adjust his timetable.

* * *

The warden calls him at 7:35 in the morning, and Inaho is awake, already cooking breakfast for more than two.

" _It -_ " - _Inaho's eye twitches - "_ refuses to eat, not even when requested to do so," the man's voice registers in Inaho's ears as of someone who woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, "sergeants Michael and Liu are suggesting that using brute force would be effective."

' _Is that a joke?'_ Inaho narrows his eye for a second upon hearing this, and replies in a somewhat cold fashion, "Do not allow them to use brute force at any cost, and if they do, then they should know what is to come their way. I shall be there in approximately twenty minutes, for the mean time, take Slaine's platter away from him. I will bring my own homemade food," Inaho says with absolute certainty.

"Yes, sir. I will inform the rest," the warden responds with a tone fit for a soldier.

"Also," Inaho quickly adds on, just before the warden hung up on him, "I suggest you start using Slaine's name now, rather than continuously referring to him as an _object."_

"..Yes, sir, I will make sure to call _it_ Slaine from now on, sir."

Inaho hangs up before the warden does. He is not satisfied from the response he's received. The brunet shuts his eye, inhaling and exhaling before finally putting himself into action. He looked at the extra amount of breakfast he had with slight relief. He had already made Slaine's portion, all that was left now was to cover the bento boxes.

* * *

When Inaho arrives, Slaine immediately raises an eyebrow, slight interest piquing in his face. Inaho is keen with what Slaine has to say, so he decides to start the day off upon closing the door, "What is it that you're interested in?"

Slaine blinks twice, and he tries to look as impassive as he could before opening his mouth to respond, and Inaho does not expect it. "The aura you gave upon entering the room gave me the impression that you are not in a good mood today," Slaine slowly began, his vocal cords low as he finishes off, "am I not right for assuming such? Also, you've a bag with you today."

Suddenly feeling satisfied with himself, Inaho replied to him, ignoring the last statement and saving the explanation for later, "Yes," he answers honestly, "you are correct. I'm feeling quite annoyed. What gave you the impression?"

"It's just..." Slaine's eyes flicker, and Inaho is a second too late to register the emotion that passed by, "Nevermind." Slaine refrains from speaking too much. He tries to regain status quo by shutting himself up.

And Inaho hates it.

The brunet's mood sours further, and the blond notices, but decides not to comment. He closes his eyes, hoping this moment would just end, and hoping that based on the brunet's sour mood that he would leave quicker. It wasn't until Inaho had pulled something out of his bag that he snapped his eyes back open.

The aroma of assorted foods wafted through the air, and Slaine instincts recognized one smell and labeled it to be the smell of cooked eggs. Slaine's mouth immediately watered. For some reason, the smell of this food made him feel nostalgic. Why was this so? The food the guards brought in didn't interest him in the slightest, although he _was_ grateful that it was no longer algae and krill. Slaine was just about to close his eyes to prevent himself from further becoming hungered by the fueling smell of food, before the smell grew a hundred times stronger than it already was before. Slaine straightened himself up in his seat, eyes wide as he watched the red eyed male place down four boxes.

Inaho noticed his sudden gain of interest, and resisted the temptation to smirk as he slowly began to peel off the lids on the boxes. The young Kaizuka examined the teal eyed man's facial expression. Slaine, who once looked like he didn't want to be here, suddenly looked as though he wanted to stay here for whatever would happen next.

Slaine pursed his lips into a thin line and swallowed the excess build up of saliva in his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing in response to this action. His gaze turned expectant as he eyed the variety of food prepared. Greens, egg, rice, side dishes containing meat - _no algae and krill, whatsoever._ Slaine clenched his teeth. _Was this for him? No way, why would Inaho Kaizuka go out of his way to feed a prison -_

"I prepared this specifically for you to eat," Inaho answered his thoughts, his red eye keeping a firm gaze on Slaine's face as he said this, watching as Slaine's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. "Seeing as you wouldn't eat the food the chef here prepares for you - " Inaho is cut off by none other than Slaine himself.

" _Food?"_ Slaine sneers, "You mean the lump of goo they try to urge me into feeding? I'd hardly call that food."

Inaho pauses and briefly remembers the day he passed by the break room, where all the guards take their breaks and eat food made by the chef. ' _What they ate definitely did not have the consistency of "goo"',_ Inaho thinks to himself, the cogwheels in his mind whirring quickly at the thought of Slaine's mistreatment. He takes note that he should drop by whenever Slaine is eating to see what kind of food he is being told to eat, and if he indeed, was being forced to eat a splat of unknown items, Inaho would approach the chef personally.

"I see," Inaho acknowledged Slaine's response, "I'll talk to them for verification. Meanwhile," Inaho took out a pair of chopsticks and looked his way, "do you know how to hold chopsticks? If you don't, I've also brought a fork for you."

Slaine is momentarily speechless. He brought _two_ utensils _just in case_ _he didn't know how to use a pair of sticks?_ "I.. I'd rather use a fork," Slaine slowly replied, licking his dry lips.

The brunet noticed the licking motion and brought out a thermos from his bag, and Slaine couldn't help but eye it in suspicion.

"What's in _that_ thing?" Slaine queried, unsure on how to refer to the long, metallic piece.

"Aren't you talkative today," Inaho's lips offered a small, pleased smile, which Slaine visibly flinched at, "there's tea in here." As if to prove his point, Inaho swished the contents inside in a small, waving motion.

Hearing the sound of liquid whirling against the metal case, Slaine continued, "What flavor is it?"

Inaho's small smile morphed into a smirk, "You are free to guess."

"Oh, _wow,"_ Slaine began with a tone of absolute dread, followed by sarcasm, "I'd have thought that my ideas and thoughts were locked up, too. Thanks for the _confirmation,"_ the blond's teal eyes narrowed. Seeing as there was no reaction emitting from the other male, he let out a small breath, muttering under his breath before continuing, "I don't know, Earl Grey?"

"Wrong."

"Green tea?"

"Also wrong. I do not intend to give out hints but maybe, just _maybe,_ it would be a color. When you look at me, what color do you see?" Inaho questioned with a steel-like look on his face.

"Red and black," Slaine answered, distaste clear in his tone and facial expression, "becaus _e when I see you, I feel a tinge of annoyance, followed by the thought: '_ Why didn't he kill me'." Before Inaho could open his mouth, Slaine began to speak yet again, "Yes, for Princess - no," he paused, correcting himself, " _empress_ Asseylum, I understand, but I still can't help but question your thoughts."

Inaho's lips thinned and he frowned, "Even though you _were_ my enemy, I don't see why I should have to put a bullet through your head. You and I have our differences, but I'm sure we both want the same thing. We no longer want any blood shed, we don't want to see our friends die before our eyes anymore."

"But I'm different," Slaine's shoulders tensed, his voice growing dark as his eyes burned with the feeling of malice, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, "I'm _your enemy."_

"You _were_ my enemy," Inaho retorted as he took out a fork and leaned forward to place it to where Slaine was.

"What makes the me _now_ and _then_ so different?" Slaine hissed, irritation bubbling over, and slowly morphing into anger, "I'm still the same. Yes, I've been stripped of my name, my rank, _my life,_ but in reality, I've lost all of those long ago. The only thing I yearned for - _the only person I yearned for_ was empress Asseylum, I -"

"Do you still yearn for her?" Inaho sharply began, his tone a bit harsher than he had expected, and his voice cut through Slaine like a knife,

Slaine froze, and he didn't realize that he was almost standing until he felt his legs give way. He fell back into his seat and in a small voice, replied to Inaho's question with caution, " _Of course I do,"_ he whispered loud enough for Inaho to hear, " _more than ever."_

"This," Inaho cuts through, eye finding Slaine's own, "is why you're far more different from before. The _you_ now is living miserably. Slaine Troyard died months ago," he watched as Slaine's face broke, "so _who are you?"_ He noticed the food slowly losing its steam, and upon noticing this, he took the pair of chopsticks and picked up an egg roll to see if it would still be in perfect shape. He put it back down and made a quick decision to move.

Slaine looked down, looking at his balled fists before eying the chain that tied him down to the chair. "...I'm a prisoner," Slaine bit his trembling lower lip, "a prisoner without a name."

"Slaine."

Slaine was surprised to hear Inaho's voice so close to him, and he jumped once he realized that Inaho had moved his seat in order to sit right next to him. Brilliant teal met rich, red, and Slaine's eyes widened at the strong, powerful look in Inaho's eye.

"You are Slaine. You are not Slaine Troyard, the soldier, the _bat,_ the ruler of the Versian Empire. You are just Slaine, and you will continue to live. I can't allow you to die. Leave the past behind you," Inaho's voice is clear, strong, and firm, "we are no longer enemies."

"I can't just leave the past behind me, Inaho Kaizuka!" Slaine shouts, his eyes blazing with fury as he raises his right hand with a violent motion and latches onto Inaho's tie, pulling him forward. "I've told you already, I've killed people. _I've killed my comrades. I've killed myself,_ and I don't ever want to forget their faces - !"

"Then don't," Inaho cuts him off, slowly growing tired of this conversation. "Don't forget them. Yuki-nee once told me to remember all of my comrades who died, and to make sure I live for them and myself."

"That's easy for you," Slaine hissed before smirking in a rueful fashion, and Slaine realizes that he's telling Inaho more than he needs, but he chooses to not care for the time being, "at least you _have_ people to depend on. I've had no one, and if I did, they're _long_ gone."

Inaho purses his lips, and he doesn't quite know what to say, so he says the first thing he has on his mind. "I don't come here without reason, Slaine," Inaho slowly begins, and he watches as Slaine's expression becomes unfathomable, "I'm here."

As if those words did a great deal of damage to Slaine, Slaine pushed Inaho away, uncaring for the fact that he has almost caused the chair Inaho sat in to flip over. Slaine's face felt hot, and his eyes stung, "You're a _piece of shit,_ you know that, right?"

"I've been told," Inaho casually replies, unfazed by the insult as he remembers Calm becoming enraged at him for constantly acing his tests. He watched Slaine cry before him, and this time, he chose not to leave. Suddenly, Inaho felt like apologizing, "...I'm sorry," Inaho apologized, "I never meant to make you cry-."

Slaine's sobbing quickly turned to laughter.

Inaho's eyes widened.

The blond threw his head back, his whole body trembling as he laughed his lungs out and cried his heart out. Tears streamed like stars falling from their places, and Inaho could hear Slaine's genuine laughter ring throughout his ears.

And it honestly didn't sound bad.

Inaho focused on Slaine, and Slaine only, and the colors which colored Slaine began to glow more vividly.

This was the real Slaine, stripped of his title, stripped of his uniform, stripped of any facade or mask he wore in front of people. Slaine was naked before him. Absolute tears, absolute laughter.

_The Slaine that he never had imagined to see, even through a video, or a camera's lens, yet here he was. Right before his very own eyes, unraveling, blooming in a place with no sunlight._

"I've always thought that you were weird, Kaizuka Inaho," Slaine's laughter comes to a slow stop along with his tears, his eyes puffy as he sent a small, appreciative smile to Inaho, "I think you just proved my assumption, but I have never thought that you would be so.. _cheesy._ "

After a few seconds of recollecting himself, Inaho responds to Slaine with an almost comical response, "If nobody has told you already, it's never very good to presume a book from its cover."

Slaine snickers as he slides a box over to himself, picking up the fork that Inaho had given to him before stabbing an egg roll and popping it into his mouth. The face Slaine makes upon the first couple of chews sends a great feeling of satisfaction roaring throughout Inaho's senses. Inaho takes a plastic cup he brought for home and pours tea into it. Shortly after filling the cup up, leaving an inch of space for precaution, he politely hands it down to Slaine.

"Shit," Slaine swears after swallowing the nibbled down pieces of egg and vegetable, "I hate you so much right now." Slaine takes a moment and remembers the question he held in his mind. Slaine then wraps his fingers around the cup, and with delicacy, he brings the tea up close enough for him to sniff it. The scene it takes him to do so, Slaine's suspicion is aroused. To confirm his thoughts, he blows gentle on the surface of the tea, watching the light color ripple before sipping it.

"Of course," Slaine huffed with slight disgust and defeat, " _of course."_

And Inaho's impassive face breaks slightly as the edge of his lips curl.

Slaine takes another egg roll and bites it, and he shivers.

It is twelve degrees outside, and the room is surprisingly warm today.

Today, Slaine feels a bit lighter.

And so does Inaho.

**Author's Note:**

> it was orange tea HAAHAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA [[lets out a disgusting snort]] hAAAAAAAAAAAA  
> cheesy af dont ask pt is gonna be so much worse  
> pece


End file.
